Apparatus for dissecting pulpy and fibrous plants.



F. F. STRONG. APPARATUS FOR DISSEGTING PULPY AND PIBROUS PLANTS. I

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10, 1910.

Patented Jan. 2, 1912.

. handling such plants as are common in the mnnarcx srnone, or $1".rnrnnssnaartonme.

APPARATUS son nrssnc'rriwe PULPY AND ruinous PLANTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented J an. 2,1912.

Application filed June 10, 1910. Seria1 1o.:586,221.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK and State of Florida, have invented anImprovement in Apparatus for Dissect1ng Pulpy and Fibrous Plants, ofwhich the following description, in connection wlth the accompanyingdrawings, is a speclfication, likeletters on the drawings representinglike arts. p My invention aims to handle stalky plants so as to separatethe pulp and fibers from each other without requiring previous treatmentof the stalks.

My invention is particularly intended for southern part of the UnitedStates, whereby the rapid and economical production of commercialconunodpities, such as crude paper pulp, raw textile and cordage fiber,raw material for the manufacture of artificial hard.

rubber or ivory and vulcanized'fiber, is rendered practicable from theleaves, leaf stalks, stem,sheaths, trunk wood, and roots of a largevariety of these tropical and sub-tropical plants and trees. Some ofthese plants have been heretofore utilized in connection with variouspreliminary treatments whereby the fibers and pulpy substance have beensoftened and disintegrated chemically -preplants which contain longparallel fibers, or

undles of fibers, running continuously from izhefroot through the trunk,leaf-stalk, and

ea i v In carrying out my invention, I provide means to feed the fibrousmaterial end-on while the end is being'subjected simultaneously to arapid whipping and sub-dividing operation. The mechanism is such thatthe pulp matter is separated mechanically from the fibers without injuryto the latter. The sub-dividing mechanism operates practically on eachfiber to push therefrom the pulp but not'to injure the fiber, simplyleaving the uninjured fiber stripped clean of its pulp and juices orparenchyma. The pulp is pushed from between contiguous fibers and 1sbeaten or whipped and combed away by a continuous succession ofexceedingly rapid and yet delicate blows; and I regard my in- F. STRONG,a citizen of the United-States, and resident of St. Petersburg, in thecounty of Hallsboro vention as broadly new in provlding means foraccomplishin this action on the end wise-fed materia Having separatedthe fibrous material from its pulpy container, it

is squeezed and brushed so as still further to clean and straighten it,while all the tissue substance and juices removed therefrom are passedto a further separator which separates and sub-divides the-latter.

In the drawings, in whichI have shown a preferred embodiment of myinvention Figure 1 is a vertical'longitudinal sectional view of .oneform of the machine, parts being broken away for clearness ofillustration; Fig. 2 shows in enlarged front elevation one of themechanical dissector rolls; Fig. 3 is a view partly diagrammatic showinga projection of the drum with its successive portionslaidout in'a'planeso as to I exhibit thelr mutual relation; and Fig. 4 is a fragmentarscraper or u p reducer.

In handling the"plants,'the raw material 'per 1, which preferably has avertical front wall 2 and a sloping rear wall 3 so .that the stalks,etc., are caused to aline themselves endwise against the front wall inhorizontal layers ready for the feeding operation,"being fed forward bya toothed or spiked roller 4 of a delivery =bed plate '11, over the edgeof which the material. being treated is bent, as clearly shown in Fig.-1, by the rapid whipping and sub-dividing action of the dissectormechanism, the front edge of said bed plate being parallelto and nearlyin contact with. the peripheral portion of the rotatin "reel 9.The/purpose 'ofthe latter is to e ect the separation and isolation ofthe structural and skeletal elements by the progressive multiplesplitting of the plant along the lines of least resistance, combinedWlbll' a plan view ofithe grinding (leaves and stalks) is delivered intoa h'op brushing or rubbing away of the loosened tissues and juices,leaving the rawtextile or cordage fibers separated one from the otherand practically free from previously adherent cells and coloring matter.

Between the heads or ends 12 of the rotary member 9,11 mount a series ofdis sector rolls L 13, herein shown as sixin number, e ach be.- mghereinshown'as'conslstmg 'of aseries of metal disks 14 mounted on ashaft-15 and separated by spacing washers 16. These thin sheetmetaldisks or plates constitute fingers forsub-divi'ding the'stalks,"etc.'which are fed endwise thereto, the finger-like members or disks 14 ofthe successive rolls being staggered with relation to each other, 7 as".'clearly shown in Fig. 3, where it willibe -seen that the correspondingknife-like fingers of the successive rolls are not in the same plane butare staggered from each other just sufficiently so that each occupies avertical plane. by itself and therefore engages the fibrous-material ata separate point, which fact, taken with the rapid 'movement of thedissector device, secures the required results.

For instance, if the thin metal disks are set one-tenth of'an inchapart, it follows that, in view of the fact that the disks 'of the .six'rolls 13 are staggered as shown in Fig. 3, the

. fiber will receive sixty cuts to the inch; In

other words, the individual disks of a row are set suficiently far apartso as not tol break or tear awaythe fiber but merely to, ,cut throughthe stalk, and the successive rows of disks are setso as to enga e atsuc-' cessive points of the stalk latera y'of the preceding cuts,with'theresult that the stalk is cut with. a degreeof 'fineness whichseparates all the individual;- fibers' from each other. vThis degree offineness could not be attained by settin all the disks in one row,

because, if so set, -t e cutters would have such a small space betweenthem .as to. allow n0. place for the passage of the fibers, and'hencethe fibers would be torn off instead of remaining. in a fringe as atpresent. As each dissector roll-.13 passes through. the material beingout, each of its disks or knives loosens and pushes forward some of thepulp tissue,

' and this proceeds continuously and progresnot mg but a fringe offibers.

the successive cutter members 13, I prosively until practically all thetissue or pul matter has been removed, leaving Between vide combs 17held in angular adjustment on transverse rods 18, these combs havingrelatively wide. teeth and narrow slots so as to permit the passagetherethrough'of more or less of the fibrous portion, of the plant whileat the same time accomplishing a rapid whippin These combs are made ofthin ribbon stee which yields sufliciently to provide a light combingblow, and cooperate with the dissector rollsto whip out the subdividedmaterial into a fringe of fibers which, being freed from the soft tissueand debris, are bent downwardly under the edge of 'the plate or table11, where. they are pulled orward by two small rolls 19, 20, whichsqueeze-them together more or less as the fibers are fed over asupporting block fully cleaned a brush ro remainin ,juices and pa ,andthe brus '22 and b ock 21 further 0 can and drythe freed fibers from allremaining debris. The

brushrotates faster-than the movement of the fiber so'as togivea slightbrushin action, its bristles being preferably me e of fine'metal'wires.In workingcabbag'e-palm leaves, saw. palmetto, .sa'w grass, or other.material which is to-be converted entirely into paper pulp, I-provide asteel baror knife- 25 ad ustably supported radially in the dissectorreel -9, being adjusted so as to cooperate-with the front edge of thebed plate to form therewith a cutting shear to cut the plan fiber intoshort portions; Each time the knife meets the bed plate, it cuts off thefiber fringe which has been fed out and split or. subd1videdby thedissecting a paratus. By varyi theperi heral spec of the'feed roll in iefation to t tion of' the .dissector apparatus,=the 1e of the fri .e offibers'cut at each revolution of the kni e is adjusted according, to thereuirements of the 'ven roduct tobe made. s the portlons o the. ringear'e'lcut, they "are whipped between therolls; 19, 20 and e rate of rotath thence carried into the receptacle 24 the same as before, where theyare washed in salt water and prepared for the'next sta of theirtreatment; The pulp cells and ebris which are separated from theisolatedfibers or fringe,-are pushed and whipped ofl' I into-'a'tank 26,being aided in their movement by jets of salt water driven from atransverse pipe 27 under pressure against the fiber at the point ofdissecting. The particular construction of this tank and the subjacentand coil crating j mechanism are not herein claimedgbeing covered in adivisional application. *The tissue, etc., collected in the tank 26 isagitated, in the salt water 28 therein by a suitable stirrer 29,herein-shown as journaled at .30 vertically" in the bottom ofthereceptacle. This mechanical sti removes much of the microscopicchlorop granules, soluble igments, and finely ivided debris, whic passthrough the meshes of a fine wire screen 31 and-out through an outlet 32in the side of the tub or riece tacle 26, whence it passes toevaporating an settling tanks for further refining in the production ofmi filif-b products. The material left in the tub conf sists' of bitsof-torn fibers, together with the pulp or parenchlyma cellsv more orless broken and. mechanica 1y freed from their green juice andchlorophyl, also bits of leaf cuticle and thin laminae formed of skincells free of, chlorophyl and consisting of nearly ,being light, riseand pure tough cellulose, admirably adapted .the production of paperpulp,

- ready in a meteor less finely dividedcondition, they careeasilyreached and acted upon by any chemical agents used for refining orthis place.

The ulp-like portion in the solution 28 graduafiy settles to the bottomas it is washed and separated by the stir'rer 29, the proper depth-ofsolution being provided by any suitable means, as through a pipe 33 inaddition to the washingsolutlon M27. The bottom 34 of the tank 26 isprovidedwith a series of holes 35 for the passage of the pulp, which arepreferably substantially closed at their lower end by a circularsubbottom or scraper 36 secured at37 to the shaft 38 which operates thestirrer. The upper surface of this scraper 36is provided witha series ofradial and preferably curved grooves of fiutings 39, see Figs. 1 and 4,

which operate to pull the pulp gently downward and outward as it settlesin the holes 35 of the :toraminous bottom of the tank. It

1 is thus further macerated and refined" and finally dropped into acollecting basin 40, whence it passes through a pipe l1 for its furthertreatment, an inlet pipe 42 being preferably provided for introducingfurther salt solution and facilitating the more rapid delivery of thepulp through the pipe 41. V

The operation of my'mechanism has already been sufliciently described,and it will be suficient to point out that although maccrating anddecorticating fibrous material (previoifily rotted or chemicallytreated) has been heretofore, accomplished, my invention is entirelydifl'ercnt therefrom and is not to be confused therewith. One of itschief characteristics is that it feeds the nonrotted and inte raloriginal growth endwisc into position w ere it is longitudinallydissected automatically in a manner approximating the careful handdissection inthe botanistls laboratory. It is simultaneously whipped,bent and mechanically freed of its juices, pulp, and cellular tissue.This takes place continuously and rapidly and yet deli-r cately, so thatthe plant is literally dissected into its primal elements, roughlyspeaking. The fibers are separated, liinbered, washed, squeezed,brushed, and dried. The pulpy container is mechanically pushed, brushed,

Being al-- washed,-and stripped from the separated fibers; It is thencollected in a tank in proper solution, where it is further washed andsepara-ted'mechanicall and the lighter coloring matter and other lightarts drained oft from the gulpy parts. T e latter are then gently an'yet rapidly squeezed, pulled,

mashed, and ground into such a sub-divided state that, when diluted or.permitted to mix freely with the liquid in the collecting tank, theyreadily forward in-a practically Y selit propelling stream.

From the above, it will be evident that my invention in its broaderaspects is capable of a wide variety of mechanical enibodiments withoutdeparting from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined i1 theappended claims. v Having described my invention, what I claim as newand desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An apparatus of the kind described, comprising means to feed theplant-material endwise. to a dissecting mechanism, cpmbinecl with saiddissecting mechanism, including means to cut the plant-material atits'lend lengthwise of the fibers with a series of cuts close to eachother, said cutting means being arranged to separate'the individualfibers from each other and pass between said fibers with a pushingaction against the intervening pulp tissue, said cutting meanscomprising av plurality of successive series of cutting blades, eachoccupying a vertical cutting plane by itself.

2. An apparatus of the kind described,

comprising means to feed the plant-material "endwise to a dissectingmechanism, combined with said dissecting mechanism,ineluding a pluralityof sets of knives, the knives of each set being parallel to each otherand arranged to cut the end of the plant-material lengthwise of itsfibers, and the knives of each succeeding set being out of alinementwith the knives of all the precedin sets.

3. n apparatus of the kind described,

comprising meansto feed the plant-material endwise to a dissectingmechanism, com.- bined with said dissecting mechanism, in-

cluding a plurality of sets of knives, the

knives of each set being parallel to each other and arranged to cut theend of the plant-material lengthwise of itslfibers and the knives ofeach succeeding set being out of alinement with the knives of all thepreceding sets, and combing mechanism operating on the out ends duringthe cutting action to-comb the parenchyma from the fibers.

. 4. An apparatus of the kind described, comprisingmeans to hold theplant material endwise to be operated upon, a rotary reellike memberhavin rolls mounted adjacent the periphery thereof, each roll having aseries of metal disks a series of dissector so mounted for angularadjustment tween the successive rolls being imountedtoq "317611-5111"--;plan'ee out 3 of". alinem'ent";

and a pluralitj ofwhippin mounte at-iintervalsfofi saidrreelkememherbetw fl'shid" rolls imposition 't o lwhip-the ends ofqth i plantmaterial with a rapid:

- series ofiwhi ping movements interspersed with the cutting, movementsof the rolls, 5. An ap aratus of x the kind described-,3

- comprising ceding means to feed theiplant material into position to he-operated' u on,

- and a reel-like member provided wi a" .of series of knives, an

' certain of said series plurality of series of cutting knives arrangedparallel-to each other and each knife standmg in a difierent' verticalplane from I comprising" feedin mechanism to feed the.

the other knives throufhout the pluralityintervenin combs mounted .forangular adjustment etweenj of knives.

6. An ap fratus of the'kinddescribed,

comprising? ceding means to feed the plant.

. a 7 material into position toheoperated and a reel-like memberprovided W1 a plurality of series of cutting knivesarranged parallel toeach "other and each knife'standin a difierint vertical plane from allthe other kni'v thr u hout the-'plurali of series of knives 15 W 0 anintervenin combs p lant material' en wise, mocha co of thin s rin' gmgmateml; r0- .{li'ridedivl h ividc ,te e hand liar-row slotgto;

of theTfibrous portion'.' of the plant while: ra dly wh p issi h p tmawrid' m 01. a. An apparatu's of the kind described,

mechanism to feed the plant-material en wise, mechani 8m to'dissect-"thefibers of the endwise sfed. material from the tissue parts thereof,

and a separato'rarranged to receive the latgtersegarate from the strongfibers and S0p$f 'I rate. elighter portions of" the matter v'ceivedfrom'the heavier rtionB 8.-An apparatus of at e kind. described,

nism'to'dissectthe fiber. of them wise fed material from the tissueparts thereof, and

a 'se arator arranged to receive bygravity the atter and separate thelighter portions from the heavier. crtions. f

In testimony w ereof,-"I havesigned my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribm witnesses; 1 FRED RIGK--E.' STRONG.'Witnesses-:

was sea-0f as art y it .the passage ther

